Mira! My guide tapped my shoulder and pointed up. Mono araña he calmly said. I looked up immediately, frantically trying to get a glimpse of the one native monkey species I had yet to see in Costa Rica, the Geoffroy’s spider monkey.
I heard branches rustling as several leaves fell to the ground in front of me and as I scoured the trees, I got a glimpse of orange-brown colored limbs flying through the air.
The spider monkey finally made its appearance and I could see it clearly. He glided through the air, using all 4 limbs and tail.
By this time, 3 more spider monkeys showed up and it was like a monkey party going up there with all the squeaks, chirps and leaves rustling as they swiftly climbed from branch to branch.
You might be surprised that in the 3 years I’ve lived in Costa Rica, I had never seen this monkey before. Though they used to be found in great numbers throughout the country, this monkey is sadly only found in certain parts of the country where the forest can sustain their large troops. Hunting and deforestation has drastically reduced their numbers.
We were currently at the only place in Costa Rica where you can find all 4 species of monkey: howler, white face, spider and squirrel, the Osa Peninsula. We set out for the day to go wildlife watching at Matapalo, a small village in the outermost point of Osa and I couldn’t believe my eyes, these monkeys were everywhere!
The abundance of wildlife in Osa is incredible, we nearly got tired of seeing monkeys! Just kidding, I could never get sick of seeing monkeys but the sheer number of them was astounding.
If you’re visiting Osa Peninsula and want to see some wildlife without having to work too hard (like at Corcovado), go for a wildlife watching hike at Matapalo. You’ll see so many animals driving there!
We went on a tour arranged by our hotel, Iguana Lodge with a local guide who I swear, stopped every 5 minutes or so to point something out to us. Though you don’t see quite as much wildlife on this hike than if you went to Corcovado National Park, you still see plenty. First timers to Costa Rica will be amazed.
We also saw turtles, turkey vultures, agoutis, caimans and iguanas around Cabo Matapalo. Once we finished our wildlife watching, our guide took us to a waterfall where we had to climb up 2 waterfalls to get to a big one. This was extremely fun and super refreshing after walking under the hot sun all day.
Tips for the Wildlife Watching Hike at Matapalo
- Wear a ton of sunscreen and bug repellent
- Bring a lot of water – it’s humid down there!
- This is one of the best places for wildlife photography since it is seriously everywhere but you must have a good telephoto zoom lens
- Wear a swimsuit underneath so you can swim in the waterfall. You’ll want to to cool off!
- Make sure to bring appropriate gear if you’re going in rainy season like rain jacket and waterproof backpack (this is the one we use) to protect your gear
Read more articles about wildlife in Costa Rica here!
Critters (insects, snakes, frogs)
Or read about the wildlife watching and hiking in Corcovado National Park!
Steven Delforce says
Hello,
Is it correct that the water from King Louis waterfall streams into Playa Matapalo and that the best way to hike to King Louis Waterfall is to walk along the river for about 750 meters?
Is it also correct that that you have to get up 2 smaller waterfalls before you get to King Louis?
Thank you in advance
Kind regards from Belgium
Steven
Sammi says
Hi Steven, when we went we were on a hiking tour so the guide helped us climb up the little waterfalls to the big one. But I did see that it kinda goes parallel to the road and we got back onto the main road via a short path from King Louis waterfall so you can probably just get down to there from there but it’s more fun going along the river but you do need to climb up smaller waterfalls. We went end of Nov/Dec and the water was a lot, I have heard people who went in April or March and there was absolutely no water.
Kate Knott says
That was fun and inspiring to read. Thanks! We are headed to Matapalo and staying in a house for 8 days. I want more info. on where to find these great hikes and waterfalls your talking about. How do I find this out? Perhaps its just easy and all around. But internet surfing is not getting me very many answers. Any help or more specifics would be very helpful. Thanks so much!
Sammi says
Thanks Kate, we did this hike and waterfall tour through our hotel. You can do a self guided hike too, we basically walked around Matapalo, to the beaches and then down to the waterfall King Louis but it was nice having a guide to point out all the animals and show us where to go.